Reykjavik Art Museum
- Branding, Strategy & Wayfinding
- Website & Print
- Featured in Taschen's "History of Graphic Design"
Bringing three separate but connected locations together as one identity was Karlssonwilker’s main task when rebranding the Reykjavík Art Museum. The museum is Iceland’s preeminent art institution, which holds three free-standing venues spread across the capital, each focusing on different decades and artists.
Using a map as a starting point, we drew lines that connected the Museum’s three locations. The resulting triangular outline became the foundation for the logo, with the names of the three venues placed on each side. Besides being a simple, easy-to-understand symbol for the “three-as-one” message, the triangle also acts as an indicator and directive arrow as it leads visitors to each of the museums and is featured within each location.
The Reykjavik Art Museum’s identity was nominated as one of the Beazley Designs of the Year in 2017.
"The Reykjavik Art Museum partnered with prominent New York-based design studio Karlssonwilker to offer a fresh perspective on the development of a cohesive brand identity for its three art museums. Karlssonwilker has an inherent cultural awareness that speaks to both local and international audiences."
The identity uses both bi-dimensional and 3D logotype for programming and Museum communications.
Using the triangular brand identity as a base, we created patterns that were implemented across all marketing and communication materials.
The color scheme of faint pastel gradients is reminiscent of the ever-so-slightly changing light of Nordic skies.
The typeface is Activ Grotesk (Dalton Maag, London). It is used mostly in two styles, Bold and Light. Bold is used contextually for Icelandic content and Light for English.
